Canterlot Academy Trials

Fang’s team would eventually return back to Canterlot and report their mission’s completion to Princess Twilight. As a reward, they were paid handsomely and allowed to take a nice long break to do as they pleased until their next mission.

“Just another day at the office,” Fang commented as he retired to his dorm room, “A rather satisfying payoff to a long-fought battle.”

“Agreed,” Lee replied as she walked alongside him, “...I just hope everything is okay back home.”

“Want some help?” Fang asked.

The primate woman shook her head. “No. You’ve been more than enough of a help to me already. Besides, you’re going through your own internal struggles and it’d be selfish of me to request your assistance any further.”

“...very well. If you need me, you know where to find me.”

Meanwhile, at Canterlot Castle…

After being given a mission briefing by Princess Twilight, several of the Royal Guardsmembers had gathered around the round table to discuss the ongoing affairs between the regions.

“Alright. So first thing up, is…” Flash Sentry muttered as he opened a scroll with various details, “Ah. That’s right. There’s an upset balance going on in a place called the Serpent City near the Wukong Province.”

“I hear they’re smugglin’ stuff down there,” Royal Guard Tungsten Wolfe spoke up, “If that’s true, then the entire world’s tea supply could be at risk.”

Another guard, a pegasus mare, would join in, “If that happens, then we would have to close down our ports which would slow down all imports and exports. That’s going to make our recent trade alliance with Foenum much harder than it already is.”

“Well enough with the expository crap then,” a male griffon guard added, “I say we take down the problem at its source.”

“We can’t all go,” a kirin stallion added, “There needs to at least be some sort of balance of power here. How about we send some of the students?”

“To fight a war?” Sentry questioned the kirin, “Are you kidding? They’re still kids, you know!”

Tungsten sat back in his seat and looked up at the ceiling of the room. “Well…it’s not a bad idea. We just need to make sure they know what they’re getting into beforehand.”

“Didn’t think you’d be up for sacrificing someone, Wolfe,” the female guard snarked.

“Nah. I’m just confident in ‘em,” Tungsten replied as he folded his hooves, “These ain’t just kids no more. They’re practically soldiers already. I say we let ‘em make an impact.”

“Given that the Academy is currently housing Lady 3rd Lianhua…” Sentry continued, speaking in reference to Lee’s status among the monk race. “It’d look better if Equestria complied and was willing to help out in the operation.”

Which is where Tungsten jumped in with a smirk, “Ergo, we should send our top students on a small field trip out there to the Wukong place so they can help out. Maybe they’ll meet Ne Zha or something.”

The griffon guard laughed. “Pfft. Since when do you concern yourself with learning about other places, my guy?”

“My interests are many,” Tungsten shrugged it off, “But that’s besides the point. Sentry, who do we got available for a long-distance mission?”

Flash Sentry would then look over another scroll. “Let’s see…”

Meanwhile, the next day…

In Canterlot’s shopping district, a few new stalls could be seen being set up alongside the pony ones. There was a goblin selling various rare metals, an abyssinian selling various charms, and even a kobold selling what appeared to be spices not native to Equestria.

On this day, a few of the students were out and about. Among them were Blue Blazes the dragon and Rufus the yak.

“...and that’s pretty much what happened,” Rufus finished recounting the events of his last mission to the dragon. “Was a hard fight, but it’s finally over.”

“Damn. Wish I could’ve been there,” Blue replied with a shrill whistle. “But we had our own mission recently so I needed to rest. Seems like things are finally chillin’ out, huh?”

“Not quite…maybe…” Rufus muttered with an uncertain tone as he glanced around at some of the new shops that had appeared. But the one run by the elderly goblin woman in particular had caught his attention. “Hmm…”

“Something catch your eye, man?” Blue asked, then followed the yak’s gaze with his own eyes. “Huh. Some old goblin lady is selling stuff. Wonder if she’s got any good gems I’ve never tasted before…”

Rufus turned his head to the side and coughed nervously, unable to look directly at the goblin woman running the stall. “Uh…y-yeah…”

Blue raised an eyebrow and shot a teasing smile in Rufus’ direction. “...holy shit, dude you’ve got a type, huh? You like ‘em short-”

“N-no I just…” Rufus sighed. “...she looks like she’s someone I should talk to.”

“Riiiight,” Blue replied with a sarcastic trill, “Well let’s go ‘talk’ to her then, huh?” he added with air quotes from his claws.